


Music and Magic

by DesdemonaAngel



Category: Labyrinth (1986)
Genre: Cameos, College Student Sarah, Developing Relationship, Drag, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Glam Rock, Humor, Inspired by Music, Past Drug Use, Rock Star Jareth, Rock and Roll AU, Romance, Sarcasm, a lot of it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-24
Updated: 2016-10-27
Packaged: 2018-08-24 11:41:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8370961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DesdemonaAngel/pseuds/DesdemonaAngel
Summary: A reclusive rock legend with an attitude, a college student trying to pay the bills and find her way. Things aren't always what they seem, but with a little music, magic can and will happen.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's what Jareth was playing:
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPn8eYkim1k&index=129&list=LLR_Zj4ChkZ5duAUBdhKXNFQ
> 
> I give credit to the amazing person who did this. You rock!

Sarah looked down at the address scribbled on the soggy rain soaked piece of paper in her hand before looking back up at the victorian styled house through the wrought-iron bars surrounding it. It looked like it hadn’t been lived in for decades; the once ivory paint was peeling in places, the roof was missing tiles, and the walkway leading up to the front door was littered in overgrown weeds and branches from nearby trees. It looked like an abandoned castle. Or a dump.

 

“This can’t be right.” she told herself looking at the address for a third time. She’d expected something...well...less poorly managed. The job description had been simple enough, just regular housekeeping and odd jobs around the property with a good pay. Sarah was surprised no one else had taken it a month after it was posted in the newspapers and figured she’d give it a go. Anything that wasn’t babysitting anymore.She really had her work cut out for her.

 

The address was the same as it was on the paper she held; **_1300 on Castle st_ **. Strains of music could clearly be heard coming from it although the curtains were all drawn making it impossible to see who was inside. It was then that the bushes parted on the other side of the gate and she saw a squat little man appear with a weed pump.

 

She called after him through the iron bars. “Excuse me?”

 

“Wah, excuse me!” He cried out, jumping several feet of the ground in surprise before he caught sight of Sarah and frowned. “Oh, it's you.”

 

“Excuse me, but can you help me? I’m trying to find house **_1300, Castle st_ **.”

 

“Well you’ve found it Miss.” He grumbled going back to spraying the walkway.

 

“Uh...can I come in?” she ventured.

 

“Well I don’t know, can you?” he replied sarcastically. If Sarah rolled her eyes any harder they’d pop out of her skull.

 

“ _May_ I come in?”

 

“Just push on the gate there.” he replied. Sarah didn’t know what to think of the weird little dwarf other than he was very rude. But if she was going to work here than she had to try and give him the benefit of the doubt.

 

“My name’s Sarah.”

 

“That's what I thought. I’m Hoggle, the grounds keeper. You must be the young lady applying for the housekeeping job. Am I right?” She nodded, tromping up the wet walkway and stairs to the old covered wrap-around porch alongside him.

 

“Well the only thing I can say about “His Majesty” is that he doesn’t like being disturbed by people unless he wants something. And trust me, you’ll know when he does. For the most part he’s usually working on music or something up there in his room. He tends to be gone for long periods at a time; actually he bought this house a month ago which is why it's in such a crap state,”

 

“Really? I didn’t know.”

 

“Oh don’t sound so smart. You’ve no idea who the guy is do you?”

 

“No. Do you?”

 

“Unbelievable.”

 

“Look, if that’s all the help you’re going to be then you can just leave.” she replied matter-of-factly.

 

“Whatever, I’ve got better things to do than talk to a know-it-all.”

 

“Thanks for nothing Hogwart.”

 

“Its Hoggle! And don’t say I didn’t warn you about the job because I did.” he spat as he got down the stairs again, grumbling with his back turned as he walked away. The door looked like it had been stained a long time ago and had a dingy brass knocker.

 

“I guess I’ll just…”

 

“Oh just let yourself in!” Hoggle called out from the garden. Turning the doorknob Sarah stepped inside the house; her ears were instantly assaulted by the overwhelming sound of an electric guitar being played furiously somewhere upstairs. The inside looked almost as bad as the outside did. Magazines, book, and random bits of whatever were all over the place like there’d been an explosion.

 

Cobwebs hung from the rafters and unpacked boxes littered the entryway where she was. On a box to her left was an ashtray overflowing with cigarette butts and at least an inch of ash. “Gross,” she said wrinkling her nose at it. Closing the door behind her, Sarah gingerly picked her way to the bottom of the staircase.

 

“Uh hello?” she called up. It was obvious that whomever was playing wasn’t able to hear her over the sound of the guitar. With no other option Sarah climbed the stairs to the second story to locate the one playing. It was a distinct sound and very atmospheric.

 

As she got closer to the source she could hear background notes of drums and synthetic keys creating a more distinct tune, the guitar reaching a crescendo almost like it was being made to sing. Her feet took her to a large oak door; the sound almost numbingly loud from the other side.

 

“Excuse me, I’m here for the job!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. The music promptly died followed by the sound of guitar strings being scraped loudly as it was being unplugged from an amp. Heavy footsteps paced to the door before it opened.

 

A tall skinny man in tight jeans, black knee high boots and a black t-shirt stood there for a moment before leaning against the doorframe by his hip to examine Sarah, his arms crossed over his chest arrogantly as if he owned the world. He had a sharp face with sharp features; straight nose, thin lips, and pronounced cheekbones.The man’s hair was straw-blond and looked like it had seen too many bad hair days.

His eyes were arresting because for one, they were two different colors and sizes which made it impossible to look away from, and secondly they were done up in a sort of winged eyeshadow that went above his eyebrows. He also looked bone tired.

 

He casually took a drag from a cigarette he’d been holding, flicking the ash onto the carpet without a second glance. “What?”

 

“I--I’m here for the housekeeping job. You did put the add into the paper, right?” She held out the newspaper ad she’d cut out hoping that it would explain where she couldn't; Sarah was totally tongue tied. He took the news add and scanned over it. “So I did. Well then,” he handed back the clipping “Can you clean?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Take care of the mail when it comes it?”

 

“I think so.”

 

“Dust and mop?”

 

“Of course.”

 

“You’re hired.”

 

“Wait--just like that?!”

 

“Just like that. Unless you don’t want the job.” He replied haughtily, taking another drag.

 

“No, no, I do. It's just...it isn’t that I don’t appreciate the offer, but I was hoping to get some more details before I started that's all.” she explained a bit flustered.

 

“Oh very well. I’m sure Hoghead at the front gate told you about my schedule as I’m a very busy person and can’t be bothered by little details to take care of themselves. I won’t be in on some days and I’ll leave you to also take care of the groceries if need be. Other than that I’ll be up here working most of the time and unless the house is on fire I won’t be down.” He elaborated.  

 

“Got it. I’m Sarah by the way, Sarah Williams. How soon can I start?”

 

“Right now if you want. I can send the necessary documents to you later.”

 

Sarah smiled “That’s grea--” behind him her eyes caught the image of a framed poster hanging up on the man’s wall. He was caught in the limelight wearing a leather jacket and tight leggings onstage over a crowd, his hand grasping a mic held to his lips as he sang. She’d seen that picture before almost a dozen times.There was more than one picture as Sarah noticed more and more with the same man in them  And instantly recognized who it was.

 

“You’re him aren’t you? You’re The Goblin King?!”

 

“Tah love,” he said before closing the door in her face. Sarah couldn’t believe it as she stood there numb, hearing the amp being plugged in again as the guitar fire back up into its continuation of the song.

  
“I’m working for a rock star.”


	2. Chapter 2

Jareth threw himself into his music once again after having closed the door to the girl outside. She’d recognized him. A part of him was rather pleased that he still had it after five years, why shouldn’t he still make people swoon? He was still The Goblin King. Even if thirty-six was ancient in the music world, he still had it.

 

The other part of him felt the cold grip of fear settle into his gut. She’d recognized him which meant that perhaps she’d spread the word. He didn’t need droves of paparazzi crawling all over his property, that was the whole reason he’d bought the place to begin with so that he could hunker down without worrying about people or unwanted attention. Perhaps that ad in the paper had been a bad idea to begin with.

 

Still, he knew he wasn’t going to unpack everything. Living from a suitcase was so ingrained into him now it just was a given. He could always let her go later if she wasn’t trustworthy. The only place he’d actually given a damn about was his own room in the master suit of the old Victorian house. On the walls hung laminated covers of Rock and Roll magazines he’d been featured in over the years going back as far as is first gig and pictures of the concerts he’d played.

 

Pictures of a rock legend were what he saw. Images of someone he’d been years ago and still held onto for dear life. The persona of the Goblin King, a dark sexual fairy creature of dreams and nightmares come to entertain the masses of the Aboveground with his voice and fulfill every rock and roll fantasy were who he’d been for a long time. Swaggering onstage in those tight pants every night to hordes of screaming fans adoring every minute he’d sung to them were what he’d lived for; he still had some of those outfits packed away somewhere.

 

His tours had played from Europe to the U.S. and his songs had gone from Gold to Platinum in a matter of weeks. His first album, Underground, had probably been his best to date regardless of what ever else he’d written an sung after. Jareth’s musical career had gone above and beyond.

 

After the accident though everything had changed. He still sang and produced, still toured a little to keep up appearances, but he was never going onstage again. He’d come to terms with that a long time ago. Now he stayed at home most of the time, throwing himself into the music.

 

Jareth took a second to playback the recording he’d been working on, letting the melody ebb and swell around inside his head as he looked around his room. Music and recording equipment were laid out in a corner as best as he could manage for the time being. His large and lavish king sized bed near the large french windows was a complete disarray of unmade blankets and strewn pillows he’d knocked to the floor last night during one of his episodes; on his bedside table sat another ashtray half filled with more cigarettes he’d smoked as well as several orange bottles of prescriptions the doctors gave him. They hadn’t done shit last night he thought, running a hand over his face.

  


His ears detected a few trip-ups in the song where he’d missed the beats on the guitar. He’d have to redo it by monday and have it out to his producers by wednesday for the next lineup. It was already late friday afternoon, he’d have to plow through the weekend again to get it right. Not to mention he still needed to sing. With a migraine on the rise Jareth went to relight his cigarette, the twinge in his lower back and hips starting to flare up again. It was going to be another hard weekend.

* * *

 

Still in a daze, Sarah wandered downstairs. The Goblin King. She was working for the Goblin King. Everybody knew his music; ask anyone anywhere and they’d instantly know who you were talking about. When she was in high school he’d been at the height of his music career, girls would be singing his songs in groups at lunch, boys had started wearing makeup and eyeliner to try and emulate his style. Sarah herself hadn’t been immune to the charm of his voice when she was fifteen and going through a rough patch with her family. His songs--no his voice--were what had gotten her through in the end so she could cope with the changes she’d had to face with Karen and her father.

 

But then he’d just...vanished five years ago from the music scene. There’d been lots of rumors floating around as to what had been the cause. Some said drugs, others said retirement, but the most popular one was that there’d been a bad accident during his last performance in the UK on stage. The news had said a lot of things that all contradicted each other but one thing had been for certain, The Goblin King hadn’t been seen since. But here she was, working for him. It was so weird because a part of her expected the whole thing to be a setup; she was sure the cameras and film crew were going to pop out at any minute and tell her it was one of those prank shows. Sarah didn’t notice much until she nearly tripped over a mountain of stacked cardboard boxes before catching herself on the railing.

 

“Jeeze, even rock stars can be total slobs!” she exclaimed. Thank god the music was going again up stairs otherwise he might have heard her scream.

 

“Ok. calm down. I have the job, I can start working, that’s the important part. This was probably the easiest interview I’ve ever had; this can’t be real! Ok Sarah, don’t look a gift-horse in the mouth. First things first I need to find the cleaning supplies.”

 

She did find a few things she could use from under the kitchen sink when she went to investigate. At least the kitchen of all places in the house was minimally horrific, maybe a bit grimy and dusty around the edges but at least it didn’t have one of those ashtrays she’d seen. The smell that had wafted from his room when he’d opened the door nearly made her gag earlier.

 

And that’s how her new job started. Jareth had sent over the paperwork for her to sign at the end of her exhausting first day of cleaning as much as she could which ended up being the living room and part of the kitchen. The next day she was officially employed to a rock legend.

 

But after their initial meeting all contact was limited to Sarah sliding a pencil and slip of paper under the door to his room since he wouldn’t open the door to her knocking on it. He hadn’t given any specific details about how he wanted things to be unpack or where they should go so she’d scribbled it down on the paper the next day.

 

_Where do you want things and how do you want them set up?_

_Also the fridge looks pretty sad, what do you eat anyway?_ _  
_ _P.S. Food Allergies?_

_Sarah._

 

The music stopped for a few minutes as he wrote back his answer before the paper was returned under the door.

 

_I don’t care, just unpack. Eventually I’ll hire contractors to come and fix the house up but not now._

_Afraid I don’t really eat much while I’m working, so whatever is fine._

_P.S. No allergies.Take this for food._

_J._

On the paper he’d also slipped several bills. Sarah had to blink several times because of the amount he’d just forked over; it was enough for two months rent. Quickly she’d scratched out a reply.

 

_Are you sure you trust me enough with this?! This is literally enough to pay my rent and then some._

_Sarah._

 

Another note followed.

 

_Your background check came back clean, so yes I do. Also I can always track you down later if you do steal from me and report it to the police. Trust me, I wouldn’t have hired you to begin with if I didn’t think you were capable and competent enough for the job. Speaking of reporting, I have one rule I didn’t mention yesterday during the interview._

_I’d appreciate it if you didn’t go telling people where I live or that I’m here at all. I have my reasons. Now go buy something edible, preferable food._

_J._

 

Sarah stared at the note. Wait, he’d already background checked her?! When the hell had that happened! And he was just so damned flippant about it like he _was_ a king and could do anything that please him while everyone else were peons to him. “You total--ugh!” she crumbled the paper up and stomped her way downstairs.

  
From behind the door Jareth smirked.


	3. Chapter 3

“I’m going to be late!”

 

Sarah ran down the sidewalk to her job praying that she’d make it on time. The contract had been very flexible in some areas except for the time between the end of her college classes and when she was expected to be at the house, which only left her half an hour in between.

 

“Oh god, please let me make it,” she huffed trying to pick up the pace. Her sore legs protested but she ignored them as best as she could and hiked her bookbag higher over her shoulder.

 

Sarah often found herself scribbling when she was bored, which was almost always now that she was in college. Lectures were hell, especially when she needed to be paying attention to the instructor's voice at the front of the classroom.

 

Not that she wasn't a good student. She got her work done, got good grades and was able to write passable essays. She was just bored and a bit lost; not knowing what you wanted to do with your life was hard and scary. Even if it was seemingly all planned out ahead of time there was no roadmap for life in general and how to deal with these things.

 

So she scribbled in her notebook to pass the time. And while her history Instructor droned on ahead of them, she pretended to write down notes when the reality of it was she was drawing which was why her bookbag was so heavy now. Karen would’ve turned purple if she’d known her step daughter was doodling. At least she could always do some homework in the newly cleaned livingroom.

 

She’d worked hard over the weekend dunging out the house of horrors, she was so proud of the amount of work she’d done. There were still boxes of crap that needed to be addressed but other than that it seemed to be going smoothly. Sarah still hadn’t managed to unpack all of them, but she was able to find a lot of the kitchen and living room stuff.

 

Sarah slowed down once she got to the iron gate of the house to catch her breath. That’s when she noticed the car parked in front of the house where she’d stopped. It was a black Triumph Dolomite, all smooth lines and classic style curves polished to perfection so that she could see her face in the dark reflection when she leaned close. On the hood of the car was a odd looking ornament that looked like a strange silver gas mask or maybe the head of an alien creature.

 

“Weird.”

 

“Yeah, I’ve always thought so too.” A face appeared from over the other side of the car of a man wearing a black chauffeur's outfit.

 

“Oh, I’m sorry, I was just curious about the car. I promise I didn’t smudge it,” said Sarah stepping back from the beautiful vehicle. The man came around and extended his hand to her in greeting.

 

“It’s ok, we get that a lot actually. I’m Matthew Cable.”

 

“Sarah Williams.”

 

“Nice to meet you. I take it you’re not here to admire the Boss’s car, right?” he asked letting go of her hand.

 

“I’m actually working for the guy who lives in the house behind us.”

 

Matthews dark eyebrows shot up surprised. “Jareth? No way. How’d he come by such a nice girl to work for him willingly anyway?”

 

“Wait, you know him?”

 

“Eh...not as much as you might think. He’s a notorious drama queen though, can’t seem to keep employees more than a few weeks before they quit. Oh sorry! I mean--uh-- you look like you’ll do just fine there. I’m probably keeping you from your work. It was nice to meet you Miss Williams, I’m sure we’ll meet again sometime,” he said quickly, going back around to wait in the driver's seat of the car.

 

She shook her head the entire walk up to the porch, not seeing Hoggle anywhere in the front yard. “Must be in the back. Weirder and weirder. And what the hell was all that about?”

 

“--utter Bullshit!!”

 

Sarah jumped, her hand still around the doorknob of the half opened door. It sounded like it was coming from the livingroom. Cautiously she crept inside the house and quietly closed the door behind her. She was right, there were voices coming from the livingroom and judging by the smell of smoke and how loud the conversation was, they had company. She stopped just sort of the threshold of the archway into the newly furnished room, peeking from around the wall.

 

“You know as well as I do that my stuff is still good--no--ten times better than before! You know very well that it is. And you think I’ve been sitting on my ass doing nothing? Nothing, tra la la!”

 

Jareth paced back and forth in an agitated state across the carpeted floor, huffing and puffing like an angry steam engine while waving his hands around to create long blueish trails of smoke as he did. Today he was wearing a baggy white t-shirt that hung off of his skinny body like he was a scarecrow and tight washed out grey jeans; instead of his black boots he wore a pair of old slippers.

 

Reclining on the couch with his arms over the back was a man dressed in black; black duster with orange and yellow dyed flames licking at the bottom edges, black pants, black shoes, even black hair, although his skin was goth pale white in contrast like he’d never seen the light of day before in his life. His hair was eerily similar to Jareth’s, although perhaps a bit more kept she noted. There was something...strangely familiar about the man although she couldn’t place it.

 

“You sing as well as you did before. Yes, perhaps even better. But the songs aren’t what’s wrong Goblin King. You’re lacking something vital, something that would make them all pale in comparison if you had it. You lack inspiration. **_True inspiration_ ** ,” he said evenly to Jareth.

 

Jareth stopped short to loom over the dark man. “Don’t patronize me Dream. You know I’m working my ass off to come up with something big. Each of those songs are dreams and wishes wrapped in so much more. You may be the the one in charge but I’m the one helping to make dreams reality for anyone listening. I’m so fucking close, I just know I am… ”

 

“I do. I think you’ll be surprised when you realize how close you really are. It’s already started. I have faith in your skills my friend. I have since the beginning. You’ll find your way soon enough. Until then, do as you always do. I expect to see the fruits of your labor soon.” And with that the man rose smoothly from his seat on the couch, indicating the conversation between them was over. Sarah stepped out of the way as he came from the living room, stopped, and turned having seen her out of his peripheral vision.

 

“Um…”

 

“Hello, Sarah Williams.”

 

“Um, hi. Can I get anything for you? Some water or tea?”

 

He shook his head. “No, thank you. You have more questions though, speak.”

 

“Are you...you two aren’t twins, are you?” she chanced looking at his face. It was similar in that it was as sharp as Jareth’s was but not the same at all. The man smiled slightly and in his black eyes a twinkle like a star flashed for the briefest of moments.

 

“Twins? No. Related? In a way yes. Yes, I can see that you’ll be a good influence on him. Until we meet again Sarah Williams. Good-afternoon.” The dark man swanned out of the house then leaving one perplexed college student and one irritated rock singer.

 

“Who...was that?”

 

Sarah blinked away the hazy sensation that had made its home in her head while watching the two men. Beside her Jareth stood with his arms crossed petulantly over his chest.

 

“That was my business partner and producer; Dream from Endless Records. Bastard thought it would be _nice_ to drop by and pick up the news songs for himself this time.”

 

“You say nice like its acid.”

 

“He doesn’t do anything nice for other people, it’s all self fueled interest as long as everything works in his favor. Although he is the best of the best so I can’t fault him there.” Absently he produced a fresh cigarette from behind his ear to light-up. Before he could though Sarah snatched it away from his mouth, tossing it to the floor to crush it beneath her sneakered foot.

 

“The fuck--!?”

 

“You shouldn’t smoke so much, do you know how bad this stuff is; not to mention the amount of butts I’ve had to clean up and ash I’ve vacuumed out of the carpet just from being here for a few days?! It’s so gross.”

 

His mismatched eyes blazed. “I can smoke how many of those I damned well like, thank you!”

 

“Also, it’s fucking your voice over big time.”

 

“What the hell do you mean by that?!”

 

“Oh come on. I can hear you upstairs when you’re singing or--death screaming or whatever. It sounds like a clogged toilet trying to flush.”

 

Well, he thought in the back of his head, that explained why she’d pounded on his door the other day yelling whether or not he needed an ambulance or was having a health problem. But the current part of him that towered over the young woman who defyingly stood her ground to him was seething.

 

“Take. That. Back.”

 

“Why? Afraid you’ve lost your silver tongue?” she baited him cooly.

 

“You’ve no idea how talented my tongue really is, girl. You couldn’t even dream of the things I’ve done with this tongue. I wonder what your basis for comparison is, probably poor ones at that.” He eyed her up and down before sticking said tongue out to show her. Sarah shrank a bit when he flicked it at her, noticing with some mild interest that he had a silver bolt through it.

 

“None of your business _Goblin-breath._ At least when you’re upstairs and not being such a twat to people, working here is a piece of cake.”

 

“Well fine! I’ll just go back upstairs and let you tackle this little slice all on your own.” He stormed back up the stairs, slamming his door behind him making Sarah flinch for the poor door frame.

 

“It’s not like you help out anyway!” she called up after him. His guitar went into action, drowning anything else out as he cranked up the volume to max.

  
But then a smirk tugged at the corners of her mouth as the nervous energy of the room dissipated. She started to laugh, holding her sides from it. “Matthew was right, what a Drama Queen!”

* * *

Surprise Cameos from Dream of the Endless and Matthew Cable!   
  
For those of you who don't recognize who Jareth's producer is then you need to go read The Sandman by Neil Gaiman. Or at least go wiki it.  
And yes Jareth has a tongue piercing, the little rebel  ;3

 


End file.
